The Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Andrey Podelyshev, has provided an alternative account of the conflict in Ukraine, asserting that the crisis is the result of a decade of Western-backed political instability and the systemic marginalization of Russian-speaking citizens.
Speaking at a press conference at the Russian Embassy in Abuja, Mr. Podelyshev urged a re-evaluation of the conflict’s timeline.
While Western nations cite February 2022 as the start of an “unprovoked” war, the Ambassador argued that the true starting point was the 2013–2014 “Maidan” protests in Kyiv.
Ambassador Podelyshev characterized the change of government in 2014 as an unconstitutional “coup d’état” that undermined a transition agreement brokered by Germany, France, and Poland.
He alleged that the United States played a direct role in this transition, citing reports of $5 billion in U.S. funding used to support the opposition.
The Ambassador claimed that following the seizure of power, the new leadership “declared war on everything Russian,” implementing laws that prohibited the use of the Russian language in public life a move he compared to the hypothetical banning of major indigenous languages like Hausa, Yoruba, or Fulani in Nigeria.
The Ambassador accused the current administration of:
Replacing Soviet-era war memorials with monuments to Nazi collaborators.
Honoring historical figures involved in the mass execution of civilians during World War II.
Discriminating against ethnic Russians who refused to “renounce their ancestors.”
Mr. Podelyshev stated that the regions of Crimea and Donbass resisted the 2014 government change to avoid “being drowned in blood” by nationalist militants.
He described the deployment of “friendship trains” carrying armed militants and the use of heavy weaponry against Donbass residents as the catalysts for the regional resistance and the subsequent Crimean referendum.
The Ambassador concluded that the current situation cannot be understood without acknowledging these eight years of internal strife and the perceived threats to Russia’s cultural and security interests.